# Camera batteries won't hold a charge **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 8, 2013, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/camera-batteries-wont-hold-a-charge/660474 "2013-06-08T15:10:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2013, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/camera-batteries-wont-hold-a-charge/660474/1 "2013-06-08T15:10:50Z")
Five years ago I bought a Canon PowerShot A470 camera based on Doper recommendations, and for four years I was blissfully happy with it. Now, however, something’s gone wonky with how it’s powered and it’s driving me nuts – sucker completely drains the batteries almost immediately, as in within a day or two. I’d been using rechargables (Eneloop), which of course don’t hold a charge as long as alkaline, but in the long run are cheaper because, duh, you can recharge them. When this first started happening I thought the rechargables had just worn out, so bought some new – nope, that’s not it. Alkalines get drained also. At this point, if I have to take a picture of something, I put the batteries in the camera, take the pictures and download them, and remove the batteries from the camera. Any ideas what the problem is? Is it fixable? Do I need a new camera? ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2013, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/camera-batteries-wont-hold-a-charge/660474/2 "2013-06-08T15:53:02Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > Five years ago I bought a Canon PowerShot A470 camera based on Doper recommendations, and for four years I was blissfully happy with it. > > Now, however, something’s gone wonky with how it’s powered and it’s driving me nuts – sucker completely drains the batteries almost immediately, as in within a day or two. > > I’d been using rechargables (Eneloop), which of course don’t hold a charge as long as alkaline, but in the long run are cheaper because, duh, you can recharge them. When this first started happening I thought the rechargables had just worn out, so bought some new – nope, that’s not it. Alkalines get drained also. > > At this point, if I have to take a picture of something, I put the batteries in the camera, take the pictures and download them, and remove the batteries from the camera. > > Any ideas what the problem is? Is it fixable? Do I need a new camera? Assuming the batteries are good, I’d guess that your camera is draining them constantly- is there a gps in it? If I leave the gps in my canon camera set to on, it will continue to operate when the camera is switched off, which eats batteries- even the lithium-ion ones my camera uses, within a day or so. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2013, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/camera-batteries-wont-hold-a-charge/660474/3 "2013-06-08T16:00:17Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > F > I’d been using rechargables (Eneloop), which of course don’t hold a charge as long as alkaline, Actually, in electronics, the rechargeables hold much longer life than alkaline. On my old D200, a set of 6 AA alkalines would keep the camera alive for about 200 pictures. With Energeizer rechargeables, over 1000. I had done this experiment twice, thinking it was a freak, but, no. Looking into it, it appears that this is the case with digital cameras and electronic flashes. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2013, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/camera-batteries-wont-hold-a-charge/660474/4 "2013-06-08T16:02:02Z")
[Here’s a quick article about it:](http://zeusbatteryproducts.wordpress.com/2012/08/29/digital-camera-buying-guide-faqs-about-alkaline-nicd-nimh-lithium-ion-rechargeable-batteries/) > [@](#): > > Digital cameras use alkaline batteries at a rapid rate. If you are using a lot of alkaline batteries for your digital camera, your best bet is to switch to rechargeable NiMH batteries as quickly as possible. Not only will NiMH batteries power a digital camera much longer than an alkaline battery, they are a lot less expensive. > > […] > > Alkaline batteries are not designed to meet the high power demands of most electronic devices. Alkaline batteries have a high rated capacity, but they can only deliver their full capacity if the power is used slowly. Digital cameras place a high power drain on batteries, so it is much better to use rechargeable NiMH or NiCd batteries for this type of device. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2013, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/camera-batteries-wont-hold-a-charge/660474/5 "2013-06-08T16:05:07Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > [Here’s a quick article about it:](http://zeusbatteryproducts.wordpress.com/2012/08/29/digital-camera-buying-guide-faqs-about-alkaline-nicd-nimh-lithium-ion-rechargeable-batteries/) Well, yeah, except I was using rechargables when the problem first manifested. And **bump** , no, no GPS. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2013, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/camera-batteries-wont-hold-a-charge/660474/6 "2013-06-08T16:10:08Z")
Well, if you tried new batteries, the only possibility I see is a power drain of some kind. As to what would be causing it, I don’t know. (My reason for commenting on the rechargeables was to correct the misconception that alkalines outperform them in digital cameras. They do not, not by a longshot, so the advantage of rechargeables in these kinds of devices is not just economy, but performance.) ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2013, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/camera-batteries-wont-hold-a-charge/660474/7 "2013-06-08T16:13:00Z")
Yes, if doing a check of the battery compartment shows that the terminal contacts are in good condition, free of dirt or corrossion, making good contact with the battery poles and nothing’s shorting them, then it would be some other feature that’s not quite switching off or going to power save mode properly when the rest of the system does, or else a failing power supply module. A quick look at a few support forums for photography and for Canon products suggests the A470 as it was had a rep for being higher-drain than the usual for this market segment – OP may want to search those forums to see if others have a similar issue. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2013, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/camera-batteries-wont-hold-a-charge/660474/8 "2013-06-09T13:22:35Z")
> [@JRDelirious](#): > > Yes, if doing a check of the battery compartment shows that the terminal contacts are in good condition, free of dirt or corrossion, making good contact with the battery poles and nothing’s shorting them, then it would be some other feature that’s not quite switching off or going to power save mode properly when the rest of the system does, or else a failing power supply module. Thanks, **JR**. A visual look at the battery compartment doesn’t show anything out of the ordinary. Is this something it might be worth going to a camera store about, if I could find such an emporium? It seems crazy to me to just replace this camera which is otherwise very satisfactory. ---
**Author:** ![Mdcastle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/958977/32.png) [@Mdcastle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mdcastle)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2013, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/camera-batteries-wont-hold-a-charge/660474/9 "2013-06-09T14:09:10Z")
Are the batteries really dead? I had a Canon camera (an S5) that apparently the battery life meter went screwy, a new set of alkalines would only “last” about 10 pictures, I’d take them out and they’d test fine on a battery tester. ---
**Author:** ![AaronX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7bcc69/32.png) [@AaronX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AaronX)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2013, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/camera-batteries-wont-hold-a-charge/660474/10 "2013-06-09T14:36:12Z")
Can you narrow it down to the camera? I mean, are the batteries REALLY full and empty when you replace them? I had a charger that would say batteries are full but they weren’t, after I dropped it. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2013, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/camera-batteries-wont-hold-a-charge/660474/11 "2013-06-09T15:17:19Z")
If it indeed drains completely or acts like it – i.e. it shuts down and won’t come back on, so it’s not just an indicator failure like **Mdcastle** asks, I have to imagine that you would become a victim of the syndrome that most modern lower-end consumer electronics exhibit, of repair being not economically viable unless it’s something really simple. If you could find a shop that would diagnose first and give you an estimate that would be ideal; otherwise I have to imagine that most shops would be focused (:p) on repairs to SLRs and high-end P&S rather than on the mass-market lines and may say “not worth it”. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2013, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/camera-batteries-wont-hold-a-charge/660474/12 "2013-06-09T15:39:28Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > [Here’s a quick article about it:](http://zeusbatteryproducts.wordpress.com/2012/08/29/digital-camera-buying-guide-faqs-about-alkaline-nicd-nimh-lithium-ion-rechargeable-batteries/) To go a little further, if you look up the specs on alkaline batteries, they have a series of discharge curves in the technical literature- the batteries behave very differently depending on how fast you discharge them. That 2600 mAh rating for most alkalines is at some arbitrary discharge rate- at a much lower one like say… a smoke detector, you may actually get more, and under a high discharge load, like say powering a camera flash, you’ll get significantly less- maybe 1/2-1/3 as much as rated. Nickel metal hydride batteries tend to behave about the same under different discharge rates- they give nearly their full capacity under all discharge rates, so they’re not so handy for low-drain devices, but the way to go with high-drain ones. Another oddity to watch out for is that the voltage drop in alkalines is very different than NiMH batteries. Alkalines’ voltage drops proportionately with discharge- a half-discharged battery has a voltage halfway between the fully charged voltage and the fully discharged voltage. Same for 1/4 and 3/4 discharged batteries- their voltage will be 1/4 and 3/4 of a fully charged battery. A lot of consumer devices use this for their remaining battery life meters. NiMH batteries’ voltage follows a sort of sideways S-curve, with a large flat stretch. So what they do is start out high, quickly drop to about 1.2 volts, and stay there for 5/6 of the battery life, then drop really fast. This will mess up typical AA battery life indicators- they’ll read almost full until the cell is almost empty, and then (if you get a chance) you’ll see it drop really fast and then the battery will be discharged. Xbox controllers are a good example. With alkalines, you can watch your battery level gradually decrease. With NiMH batteries, it’ll drop to one notch discharged, and stay there for quite a while until about 15 minutes before the controllers shut off, and then they’ll start showing more discharge for that 15 minutes. ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2013, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/camera-batteries-wont-hold-a-charge/660474/13 "2013-06-09T18:36:20Z")
The O.P. makes it sounds as though her rechargeables are 4 + years old. We need look no futher than that. Whether it’s NiCD, NiMH or LiIon, expecting a rechargeable battery to still be physically able to take a full charge and deliver the normal discharge curve is a push. Recycle the batteries and get new ones. If you go with Lithium Ion ( LiIon ), here’s a useful tip. Unlike the genuine memory issues related to NiCD, LiIon can be partially used and then recharged with no memory. However, if you follow this sequence, the pack will return more charge cycles in its life before needing to be discarded. 1. Charge out of the blisterpack for at least 12 hours- MUCH longer than the time it takes a charger to show “green”. Ignore that. You’re not overcharging, you’re simply charging all cells to their fullest potential. 2. Discharge the pack in one cycle until it dies. If it’s a 12vdc pack, it will likely go into a device with an 11.5vdc cut-off. Run the battery or batteries down till dead.Then charge them for at least 12 hours. This apparently allows for more cycles of charge/discharge. I’ve gotten this information from a battery technician at [Anton Bauer](http://www.antonbauer.com/), a recognized world leader in professional battery technology. Get new cells, **Twicks**. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2013, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/camera-batteries-wont-hold-a-charge/660474/14 "2013-06-09T18:46:53Z")
> [@Cartooniverse](#): > > Get new cells, **Twicks**. That was the first thing I tried (see the third paragraph of the OP). After that I tried alkalines fresh out of the refrigerator (where I store batteries in an airtight container). The problem is not the batteries. ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2013, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/camera-batteries-wont-hold-a-charge/660474/15 "2013-06-09T19:03:05Z")
Oops, my bad. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2013, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/camera-batteries-wont-hold-a-charge/660474/16 "2013-06-10T00:58:29Z")
Sounds like there’s a fault in the camera, and a Canon A470 is certainly too inexpensive for any repair to be economically viable. You might try cleaning the battery terminal contacts (I use a pencil eraser) but beyond that you can buy a comparable replacement camera for less that $100. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2013, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/camera-batteries-wont-hold-a-charge/660474/17 "2013-06-10T01:36:22Z")
It’s could be a capacitor failing in the camera. A bad one can cause severe power drain. ---
**Author:** ![Mdcastle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/958977/32.png) [@Mdcastle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mdcastle)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2013, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/camera-batteries-wont-hold-a-charge/660474/18 "2013-06-10T02:16:53Z")
To clarify things, my camera actually did shut down after 10 or so pictures after giving the low battery indicator, as when the circuitry says empty it shuts down the camera rather than just displaying an indicator. I realize alkalines aren’t ideal for cameras (I’ve since switched to Lithiums) but they should have lasted longer than that. I’d put them on the tester and they’d test slightly down but still well into the “good” range. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2013, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/camera-batteries-wont-hold-a-charge/660474/19 "2013-06-10T02:39:17Z")
> [@Mdcastle](#): > > I realize alkalines aren’t ideal for cameras (I’ve since switched to Lithiums) but they should have lasted longer than that. No, really, they shouldn’t. This is why you don’t use alkalines for digital cameras. The chemistry isn’t right to produce power in the form you need it. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2013, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/camera-batteries-wont-hold-a-charge/660474/20 "2013-06-10T02:54:19Z")
It’s a circuit defect in the camera. You have no good options other than replacing the camera for mobile use. The camera could still be very useful if you get a [power supply](http://www.ebay.com/itm/AC-Adapter-DC-Charger-For-Canon-Powershot-S100-SX110-A470-A560-A570-A710-A720-IS-/350586187947?pt=US_Power_Supplies&hash=item51a090b0ab) for it and use it for indoor or ebay items or other close up shots. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/camera-batteries-wont-hold-a-charge/660474.md?page=2)